EO business leads the way in Good Employment Charter

Employee Owned business Rowlinson Knitwear is one of the first 6 businesses to sign up to The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham launched the Good Employment Charter’s ‘membership tier’ last month alongside Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese and Councillor Sean Fielding, Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) lead for work and skills.

The charter has seven ‘good employment principles’, including providing a real living wage, recruitment and progression, health and wellbeing and not using “unnecessary” forms of insecure employment, such as temporary, zero hour or agency contracts.

Rowlinson has worked closely with the Charter since its launch in 2019, and was chosen for its excellent practices and commitment to continually improving their employment standards. Additionally, they are representative of the diverse range of employers across Greater Manchester that the Charter is looking to engage with and support.

Deb Oxley, Chief Executive of the EOA, said: “It is really encouraging to see activity in the regions that focusses on good employment, which in turn has an impact on the productivity of the business.

“It gives us very little surprise that one of our exemplar employee owned businesses – winners of the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2018 Rising Star of the Year Award, Rowlinson Knitwear – is leading the charge on signing up to the charter. Like many others in our network, they know that by putting people first, increased performance and profits tend to follow. In employee owned businesses where employees also have a stake and a say, that capital is socialised even further within the region.”

Nicola Ryan, Director of Colleague Support at Rowlinson, said: “We’re really proud to be one of the first members of the Good Employment Charter as we’re incredibly passionate about everything it stands for. We’ve long worked to the principle that our commercial success is a result of putting people before profit. In return, we want to be able to offer our colleagues the opportunity to fulfil their potential in a supportive, flexible and caring workplace; this is exactly what this Charter sets out to achieve.”

“Being members of the Charter gives us the opportunity to demonstrate a solid commitment to our colleagues, to continuously strive for improvement in our culture and people practices, and to share knowledge and best practice with other companies who are committed to being good employers.”

Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said: “The Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter is about supporting our employers, helping them to grow and invest in our places, with new and existing jobs right across our city-region that are underpinned by a commitment to equality, a real living wage and a positive and productive working environment. The evidence suggests that this is a win-win for everyone, with workplaces more productive when employees are happier. I’m delighted to see so many employers stepping forward to share best practice and improve standards – and would encourage others from across Greater Manchester to get involved.”